


The Start

by Adeline_Hatter



Series: Someone You Like - Elucien College AU [1]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Background ships in later Oneshots!, Because I can., College AU!, F/M, I guess it also kinda counts as a Coffee Shop AU?, Slow burn!, Why are you starting another oneshot series when you have like Four others??, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 10:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14591397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adeline_Hatter/pseuds/Adeline_Hatter
Summary: In a Coffee Shop in a beautiful city, Elain finds herself with both a table mate and a study buddy.





	The Start

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy my self-indulgence.

The cafe was always bustling at this time, but you could always find a table free on the second floor. It was a trick of her trade to find the table in the corner of Begonia, hidden by the bookshelves so that other people often couldn’t locate it. 

 

She dumped her bag on the armchair and retrieved her purse and phone, making the trek back downstairs to order her coffee. 

 

Imagine her surprise when she comes back up the stairs and finds a man in the other chair, papers strewn about with a familiar smell wafting from the mug next to him as he recited things in Latin.

 

He was… Beautiful.

 

Which was strange to say, the man’s red hair cascaded down his shoulders as glasses sat perched on the end of his nose. 

 

Elain stood next to the table and sipped her white chilli chocolate mocha and waited, for the man with the beautiful red hair and golden skin to look up.

 

It took a minute before she slipped into the chair across from him and started to pull her things out of her bag.

 

They both sat in silence for the next hour. 

 

* * *

  
  


A week later they did the same thing. 

 

She studied herbology and read some ancient languages off of his pieces of paper and books.    
  


Sometimes he swapped out the languages for business. 

 

Sometimes she swapped out herbology with botany. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


She spies his coffee order once, remembers it and when he shows up next week at ten o’clock in the morning exactly he finds a steaming cup of coffee still warm in front of his place.

 

“Thanks.” He murmurs and starts setting up.

 

Elain just nods as she feels her cheeks colour.

 

“Um- Let me pay you back for-” 

 

“It’s fine!” She interrupts, “I just got paid and um…” 

 

They both fall silent. 

 

“I’ll get the next one?” He offers forwards, “I’m Lucien by the way.” 

 

“Elain.” She offers back and he slides into the chair opposite her as they lapse back into silence once more. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Elain fidgets.

 

It’s something he noticed the first time he’d shared this table with her, she’ll twist a piece of her hair around her finger, or taps her fingernails against the edge of the page making small indents in it. 

 

Sometimes he wonders what kind of things he does when he’s studying, Tamlin never mentioned anything during those now brief study sessions, his old friend usually off chasing a girl these days or obsessing over the next rugby match he was playing in.

 

She’s an oddly calming presence that he’s become used to. 

 

Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, her eyebrows are furrowed as she murmurs names in latin to herself. 

 

“Would you like another cup of coffee?” He finds himself asking and she looks up at him, face easing slightly as she shakes her head.

 

“Not really, though I’d love a cuppa.”

 

He’s already moving as she reaches for her purse, “I said I’d get the next round didn’t I?” 

 

Her smile is polite, “You really don’t have to.” 

 

“No, I don’t want to leave without paying you back for the coffee…” 

 

“Ok…” 

* * *

  
  


Slowly the topics change from coffee to studies, to their personal lives… 

 

He learns her last name is Archeron, he remarks it suits her and she blushes. Claiming it suits her younger sister Feyre more…. 

 

“Really? How so?” He leans his arms on the table, books are forgotten, distantly the name sounds familiar though he’s not sure why. 

 

Elain sips her tea and leans back in her chair holding the mug, “She’s an Archery Champion, she can hit the bullseye three out of four times… Sometimes I worry she’ll pull the bow and arrow out when she and Nesta are fighting.” There’s a bright and amused smile on her face as she says this, “Nesta’s at law school at the moment so the fights are few in between… I kinda miss the chaos.” 

 

“It sounds like you have a good relationship with them.” He admits, willing to just listen to her talk, her smile turns sheepish. 

 

“Do you have any siblings?” 

 

Lucien sits up in his chair, “...Older brothers… I’m the youngest.” He offers. 

 

“I get the feeling you don’t have that good of a relationship with them?” 

 

“It’s barely a relationship.” 

 

“I see, that’s a little sad. But I’m sure you have your reasons.” The dismissal of the subject is soft and clear and he’s a little thankful, “We should get back to studying.” 

 

“Yeah, we should.” 

 

* * *

  
  
  


She’s humming a song when he slides into the table a week later, it’s one of her favourites. The Key to Being Lonely by Bug Hunter, she wonders briefly if he’ll recognise it.

 

Lucien doesn’t but asks her to play it for him pulling his phone and earbuds out, offering her one before putting it in the middle of the table far away from the coffee. Keeping them close so the earbuds don’t fall out. 

 

He starts singing along thirty seconds into the song and she smiles. 

 

This is how they start. 

 

And Elain finds that she likes it. 

  
  
  



End file.
